Due to a unique option in his contract, head coach Doug Marrone was able to opt out of his deal with the Buffalo Bills and is now a free man, able to pursue one of the five open head coaching jobs in the NFL and leaving a sixth team searching for a coach.
In a statement on the Bills’ website, new owner Terry Pegula said, “Doug Marrone informed me late today that he has decided to exercise the option clause in his contract and relinquish his responsibilities as our head coach. We are disappointed that Coach Marrone will no longer be an important part of our organization. We thank him for all of his hard work and leadership during his tenure and wish him and his family the best with the next chapter in their lives. We will now begin the important process of conducting a thorough search for a new head coach as we continue to strive to reach our goal of returning to the playoffs and bringing a championship to Buffalo for our fans.”
League source: Marrone asked Pegulas for an extension and was told no. He then asked for extensions for his assistants and was told no.
— Tim Graham (@ByTimGraham) diciembre 31, 2014
Marrone took over the Bills in 2013 but thanks to an ownership change, was able to excercize the opt-out clause in his contract. Marrone and the Bills were already negotiating an extention on his current four-year, $16 million deal. The opt-out clause was a good one for Marrone, who not only enters a hot job market after a successful season with the Bills, but still pockets his base salary of $4 million for 2015 from his original deal.
Marrone is believed to be interested in the New York Jets open position after spending four years as an offensive line coach there.
Buffalo should be an attractive job heading into the offseason with one of the league’s best defenses and an offense loaded with young weapons. The Bills do need a quarterback and with no first round draft pick, will be scrounging to find a starter after the retirement announcement of Kyle Orton earlier in the week.
Anybody after the job will probably have to beat out defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, whose defense helped Buffalo stifle two of the league’s best offenses (the Broncos and Packers) in the final month of the season.
